Jack-knife truck in Jondarayan death 'seriously defective'

Kim Stephens

A Queensland coroner has delivered a scathing assessment of a Toowoomba trucking company’s haphazard maintenance standards, finding it contributed to the death of a father-of-one in 2012.

Deputy State Coroner John Lock this week found the “seriously defective” brakes on a road train belonging to the family-owned St George Freightlines contributed to it jack-knifing in wet conditions on the Warrego Highway at Jondarayan, west of Toowoomba, on January 25, 2012.

The truck turned 180 degrees across the highway and slammed side-on into an oncoming four wheel drive carrying Scott Anthony Bennet, 46, and his wife Patricia.

Mr Bennett was killed instantly. His wife, though seriously injured, survived the crash.

Delivering his findings in Brisbane this week following an extensive investigation, Mr Lock described the crash as “catastrophic”.

“When Mr Bennet and his wife saw the jack-knifing ahead of them, they were experiencing a nightmare no-one would want to face,” he said.

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“Mr Bennet had no opportunity to take evasive action.”

Mrs Bennet gave evidence her husband shouted, “if we go that way we roll” but has no recollection of events beyond that.

Mr Lock said in the wake of the collision, both the Loughlin family, owners of St George Freightlines, and the truck driver, Gary McGrath, refused to co-operate with either the police or the coronial investigation.

The Deputy State Coroner ordered the seizure of the company’s maintenance records and delivered a scathing assessment of its operations in his finding.

“It is not a coincidence that this fatal incident involved jack-knifing, which can only occur in braking conditions, and involved a road train unit that had seriously defective and reduced efficiency brakes,” he said.

”I am left with the impression the family group have not learned anything from this tragic event nor have they taken steps to examine, audit or improve the quality assurance of the servicing and maintenance of its trucks and trailers.

“The appalling nature of record keeping for the maintenance and servicing of these units is simply consistent with the largely haphazard approach of the family group to quality assurance.”

The truck was following a line of cars that slowed on the Warrego Highway when a utility stopped to turn left at an intersection.

The wet road surface and the bunching up of traffic were contributing factors, Mr Lock found, as was the mechanical condition of the prime mover and both trailers.

A police mechanical inspection found the prime mover was in an “unsatisfactory mechanical condition” due to the non-operation of both left and right steer axle brakes.

The brakes in both trailers were also found to be defective.

“His overall opinion on the combination road train was that it was in an overall dangerous condition due to reduced efficiency and an unpredictable braking characteristic due to imbalances within the brake systems,” Mr Lock said.

Witnesses to the collision reported hearing a noise that sounded like metal on metal before seeing the truck jack-knife.

While Mr Lock also found the road surface contributed, he said that had already been addressed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

“The texture of the sealed surface where the prime mover would have been braking was smooth and, when wet, was slippery. This defect was rectified, by improving the surface texture in November 2012,” he said.

He also found the truck driver, who had not filled out his log book in nearly a month, was not properly trained in the emergency breaking of his heavy vehicle, particularly when without a load as it was that day.

“I am not at all convinced Mr McGrath escapes total scrutiny,” he said.

“Mr McGrath had never faced a jack-knife before. He had not been trained in such an emergency situation.

“He was unaware that a low weight load affects the braking characteristics of a road train. He was unaware of the technique of driving to pulse the brakes to replicate and ABS system.”

Mr Lock recommended a channelised right turn be constructed at the intersection and said he intended to pass the investigation report into the servicing of the road train on to the Office and Fair and Safe Work.